Fit for a King
by MaidenofIron157
Summary: Vaako wants to take care of his lover for once. Riddick doesn't know how to be taken care of. They make it work.


I know this fic features a somewhat out-of-character Riddick so please forgive me I just really really wanted Riddick to be pampered a little okay

also this is rated G because its really really cute and tame but there is definitely plenty of cursing, and also pretty obvious references to sex, but I'm going to keep it rated G because nothing actually happens but be warned that most of it does indeed have some "harsh" language and that there are references to sex

but please enjoy :)

—

"Let me take care of you."

Except it wasn't that easy. Except he'd had to take care of himself for longer than he could remember. Except he didn't know _how_ to be taken care of. Except he'd forgotten how to let someone get that close. Except the last person he _had_ let that close had been killed in front of him. Except he was scared of letting someone get that close again. Except he couldn't be weak, couldn't be vulnerable, had to be on high alert at all times.

Except this was _Vaako_, _his_ Vaako. Except Vaako wouldn't hurt him unless he asked. Except Vaako protected him, even when he didn't need to be protected. Except Vaako was _Vaako_, and that was something to consider in and of itself. Except Vaako was _his_, and he was Vaako's, in a way. Except Vaako was already too close, except he was already scared, except Vaako already _takes_ care of him, honestly, but not like _this_.

Except…

"Okay."

The blinding smile he'd gotten in response had been worth the struggle he'd gone through to get that one word out.

—

It started with a massage. Fucking fantastic, really. It was what had ultimately made him so much more susceptible to what came afterward, because Vaako's hands were positively _sinful_. He wondered where the other man had even learned how to use them that way, because it felt like the muscles in his back were being turned into butter; his neck, his shoulders, his shoulder _blades_, spine, ribs, pelvis. What had once been tense and twisted all to hell from a lifetime on edge were slowly being kneaded and prodded and stretched into a loose semblance of what they once were. It was incredible. Outstanding. Magnificent. Spectacular. Literally every positive adjective, that is what he would apply to this massage. It helped that Vaako used actual massage oil, too. From the praises the Necro would whisper to him and the way he could feel his hard-on against his thigh from where he was straddling him, the way said massage oil "glistened off his skin in the candlelight" was _hot as hell_. Good to know he wasn't losing his touch, even if Vaako was the one doing all the work.

As great as the massage was, leaving him sunk into the sheets and half-asleep with how goddamn good it felt to have Vaako rubbing out the knots in his spine, apparently he wasn't done with him yet. He slid off his thighs to kneel beside his still prone form on the bed, brushing the backs of his fingers over his temple and snorting when Riddick squinted his eyes open to prop his chin up on folded arms and greet him with a wink and a "hey gorgeous". He was pleasantly sore from the nape of his neck and the edges of his shoulders down to his tailbone and lower back. Vaako really was truly gifted with his hands; his back felt _wonderful_, like someone had taken all the coiled springs in his tendons and let them go. All he could do was just grin happily at the man responsible, who smiled right back, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of his head before moving over and off the bed. Riddick couldn't stop himself from whining at his absence, wanting to reach out and grab Vaako's arm and stop him from doing so, but he was still trying to gain control of his limbs again after having them turn into jelly, so had to resort to wriggling fussily instead.

"Calm down," he heard Vaako say (and he could hear the amused smirk in his voice, the bastard), before he was being rolled over onto his back and helped into a sitting position. "I'm giving you a bath."

Riddick furrowed his brow and made a face at the announcement, but let Vaako grabbed his hands to tug him along anyway. "Why?" He didn't think he smelt bad. Did he? No, he just took a shower that morning, and he used the _good soap_ too. He wasn't dirty, either, didn't have any dried blood or sweat or grime on him like usual (which was kind of surprising, actually). Maybe it was the massage oil?

"To relax you," the Necro explained, which made Riddick snort and mutter "already relaxed". Vaako just continued to guide him with slow steps to the bathroom, mainly to keep his knees from buckling on him (god, the massage had made him as weak as a newborn foal), and went on with, "A bath will do you good. I have scented oils that will help ease any remaining tension, especially that earthy one you like so much, even though you think I don't know about it." Riddick perked up, at that, even though he stuck his tongue out at the last part of the sentence, which made Vaako give him a little smile. "This is part of the 'taking care of you' thing we agreed on, Riddick."

"And, what, washing my ass is taking care of me?" His incredulity was obvious, even as he allowed Vaako to lead him into the bathroom and sit him down in the (admittedly massive) tub the Lord Marshal's quarters provided.

All Vaako said in response was a firm "yes", which meant he absolutely thought washing his ass was taking care of him, which meant he wasn't gonna be able to get out of this. All Riddick could do was huff and suck it up while Vaako switched the lights on (to dim, just the way he liked it) and turned on the taps to the scalding hot temperature they both preferred. The heat made Riddick sigh with pleasure as the water began filling the basin and soaking his already loose muscles, weeding out any spots Vaako may have missed and gradually weakening the knots to nothing. Then Vaako added the scented oils, and they just added a whole new level to how comfortable he was starting to become, and when Vaako turned the taps off to carefully push him forward so he could slide in behind him and wrap his arms around his waist – well, that was just the icing on the cake. He hummed contentedly, placing his arms on top of Vaako's and entwining their fingers against his abdomen, leaning his head back against the other's shoulder and closing his eyes as he took it all in.

He felt like he was in some kind of purely blissful state, at that point. Vaako's heartbeat against his back, his thumbs rubbing soothing little circles into the soft skin below his belly button, his lips pressing kisses to every inch of skin he could reach without having to move too much. The oils and steaming water were helping, too, and really just made him want to turn around and huddle into Vaako until he fell asleep, but _no_, Vaako had to ruin it by reaching over and grabbing a washrag, lathering it up, and starting to clean him off. It just wasn't _fair_. He wasn't gross and he didn't smell bad so there was no reason to wash him off in the first place, but Vaako was adamant, getting everywhere from behind his ears to the soles of his feet and everywhere in between, not even bothering to try anything else after making him half-hard with his perfectly innocent ministrations on some very sensitive places below the belt. He'd even made him lift his arms up to get at his armpits, and the gentle touch had made him jerk back and shoot him a glare, but it had no heat to it, and Vaako just kissed the tip of his nose in apology before starting in on his hands. They were big, calloused, dry, and Vaako made sure to clean every inch of them, picking anything out of his nails that happened to be there, diligently cleaning the skin between his fingers, rubbing at his knuckles and the ball of his palm, before putting the washcloth down and beginning to knead at the tendons. Riddick slumped back into the other man's chest with a grunt and let him do as he pleased – after all, it felt _amazing_, having Vaako work out the kinks in his hands that he hadn't even known were there – until the Necro was satisfied and repeated his actions on the other hand.

Unfortunately, he was done relatively quickly, and began moving and tugging at him trying to haul him to his feet despite how much Riddick wanted nothing more than to lay in the (now lukewarm) water forever. Vaako managed to get him out of the tub, though, and wrapped him up in a giant fluffy towel that he hadn't even known they'd _had_ as consolation before draining the tub. Riddick just kind of stood there, trying not to shiver in the significantly cooler air of the bathroom, but Vaako returned to his side soon enough and took the towel from around his shoulders to dry him off. Riddick let him for lack of anything else to do. _'Let me take care of you'_, he remembered, so he didn't complain, even if he had to purse his lips to keep the words on the tip of his tongue from coming out.

After Vaako dried himself off and then delivered another peck to his lips, his hand was grabbed and he was being led back out into their chambers, feeling light and airy, if tired. He knew the tiredness wasn't from a physical sense of exhaustion, but more of a mental thing. He was calm enough that he was getting sleepy. All this 'relaxation' stuff was getting to him. He wasn't supposed to _relax_. Being on the run 24/7 for however many years it's been, having to fight to survive, not exactly the makings of a good atmosphere to settle down and chill the fuck out. Now here his bedmate was – his trained, murderous, killer of a bedmate, who had, for some reason, decided he was going to pamper him like some kind of prince. It was _great_, but very, very strange and very, very far away from what he was used to, what he was sure _Vaako_ was used to. Which, honestly, kind of made it that much easier to accept, to know the other man was putting in so much effort just to make him feel this comfortable for once in his life.

It left a weird sort of feeling in his gut. He didn't know if it was a good feeling or not.

Vaako let him get into bed first (after asking if he'd wanted pajamas, which he had replied to with a "there's no way in hell I'm putting pants back on"), following after him and settling down in front of him, chest-to-chest. The lights dimmed all the way at his command, and they were plunged into complete darkness – or, Vaako was, but Riddick knew he wanted it that way. He let Vaako nuzzle into him, let him rest his head on his shoulder and let him tangle their legs together under the sheets (he's been 'letting him' do a lot of things recently), even though the fact that they were both still a little damp from the bath and their skin was starting to stick together. The snuggling made Riddick hum teasingly under his breath, even as his eyes fell closed and he curled his own arms around Vaako's torso, pulling him close. "What, no sex?"

He felt Vaako smile against the skin of his collarbone. "In the morning," he whispered, "You are too tired, right now."

At that, Riddick scoffed, despite how true the statement was. Usually that wouldn't be the case; he'd be able to jump at the chance for sex even as exhausted as he felt right now, but Vaako had managed to wear down his defenses and put him into some kind of doze-y state where all he wanted to do was cuddle and sleep for a day. "Am not," he mumbled into the other's hair, even as he started to drift.

He felt more than heard Vaako's answering chuckle rumble against his ribcage before the Necro was petting his bare hip. "Sleep, Riddick."

After a few more cursory grumblings about his stamina and how he shouldn't underestimate him, dammit, Riddick did as he was told, nose nestling against Vaako's neck and letting out little snuffling snores as he dropped off into what felt like the deepest most restful sleep he'd had in _years_.

(It helped that Vaako kept his promise the minute he woke up the next morning. Then again, if _that_ was a part of the whole 'being taken care of' thing, he might just be more inclined to let Vaako do it more often. But hey, that was only a _maybe_.)


End file.
